News from around the nation.

'Not becoming of a president': Somali-Americans respond to Trump's 'garbage' remarks; With MN tragedy still in mind, women in trades call for better treatment; NYers skeptical about electric school buses despite benefits; Across the Atlantic, two national parks collaborate.

Transcript

The Public News Service Thursday afternoon update, I'm Mike Clifford.

Somali Americans in Minnesota have described their heightened fear after President Trump intensified his criticism of the community this week.

Community leaders telling the BBC the apprehension is palpable following Trump's remarks in which he said he did not want Somalis in the US, and the country would go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage.

The BBC quotes Aj Alwed, the executive director of the Cedar Riverside Community Council.

He said, "When you're being targeted by the president of the United States, it's not really a good feeling."

Concern is also intensified because of reports that officials have begun an enforcement operation in Minnesota targeting undocumented immigrants.

Meantime, women working in Minnesota's construction trade say they're still coming to grips with a recent high-profile case of workplace violence.

In November, welder Amber Zeck was murdered by a male co-worker at a plant just west of the Twin Cities.

Clara Schiller is a local pipe fitter and board member with the non-profit Women Building Success.

She says there's renewed pressure to highlight the challenges women in the trades face, including threatening and harassing behavior.

It's absolutely something that is kept in mind when talking to people about getting into the trades.

You know, there's not an expectation that these things will happen, but it is something that people should be aware of.

I'm Mike Moen.

And New Yorkers remain skeptical about electric school buses that despite reports showing their benefits.

The state's mandate to electrify its entire school bus fleet by 2035 has been met with questions and misinformation.

But a World Resources Institute report finds many benefits to switching from diesel buses, which emit pollutants harmful to kids' health, while cold weather can impact electric school bus operations.

Sue Gander with the World Resources Institute says there are ways around these challenges.

Things like preheating the vehicle so you're able to have a full charge when it's time to go.

There's different driving techniques and using things like regenerative braking that recharges the battery while on the road and making use of that.

Many states known for cold climates have seen great success with electric buses.

In New York, the Newfield Central School District in Tompkins County saw improvements in fuel costs, with bus drivers acknowledging it's a change from diesel buses.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

Next, Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley National Park is deepening its global connections. with a new sister park partnership with Dartmoor National Park in the United Kingdom.

The first agreement of its kind between the U.S. National Park Service and a UK-based national park.

Peter Harper served on the Dartmoor National Park Authority until this year and says the visit to Ohio showed what cross-continental collaboration can make possible.

And we were actually blown away by the amount of work and things that have been done to actually restore nature within the Cuyahoga National Park.

We came away feeling things can actually be done differently.

Leaders say the collaboration supports conservation, education and community engagement at a time of rising economic pressures.

This is Public News Service.

New legislation for members of the Montana Congressional Delegation aims to make environmental restoration projects easier and less expensive.

Montana Mayor Steve Daines are sponsoring the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act.

It would exempt floodway restoration from federal floodplain permit reviews.

David Brooks with Montana Trout Unlimited cites a farmer who lives along Trout Creek near Helena.

He wanted to shore up about 100 feet of steep river bank and plant willow trees to stop erosion.

Brooks says the whole project would have cost about $1,000, but the permitting costs were far higher.

Because it's in a mapped floodplain and had to go through floodplain permitting review.

The estimated cost for that modeling and review was 10 to $15,000.

And so the landowner could not afford to do it.

Under current policy, any proposed project in a regulated floodplain must prove it won't cause any rise of flood elevations.

Brooks says this bipartisan legislation is a common sense solution and would allow a certified engineer to sign off on low risk projects, verifying they won't jeopardize infrastructure.

I'm Laura Hatch reporting.

And even after the federal government reopened and released food assistance funding, Coloradans are still turning to local food pantries to put food on the table.

State officials recently added $1.2 million to this year's Community Food Grants Program to help five feeding Colorado food banks purchase food in bulk and deliver it to hunger relief partners throughout the state, like the pantry operated by the North 40 Mountain Alliance, which serves communities near Red Feather Lakes.

Alliance Director Darlene Kilpatrick says that money is critical to meet growing demand.

We have families that both parents are working, they're struggling to get by, or someone has lost their job and they have no money for food.

To be able to offer food to give them that sense of security and hope can be life changing.

I'm Eric Galatas.

Finally, as folks in Michigan think about their charitable giving this season, health leaders say vision care remains one of the most overlooked needs, especially in underserved communities. even as the World Health Organization and the United Nations recognize it as essential to long-term development.

Studies show every dollar invested in vision care yields up to $28 in economic benefits.

The Gary Bernstein Community Health Center in Pontiac is Michigan's largest volunteer-led free clinic.

CEO Mary Lewis says, "People often don't think about vision care "until it becomes a crisis, "and many of the uninsured patients they see are already facing health problems that threaten their sight.

So we're seeing patients who are chronically ill and as we know diabetes especially can really impact someone's vision.

Crystal Blair reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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